12/27/2010

New Year’s Resolutions and Population Health Improvement: Anything in Common?

By Kirstin Siemering, DrPH and David Kindig, MD, PhD

The U.S. government’s official web portal lists ten ever-popular New Year’s resolutions (actually, it lists 11 but we left off “take a trip” since it’s a good idea but not relevant to this discussion!):

Drink less alcohol

Get a better education

Get a better job

Get fit

Lose weight

Manage debt

Manage stress

Quit smoking now

Save money

Volunteer to help others

From an individual perspective, the list is basically what we might expect. As a society, our default frame for New Year’s resolutions is that they require tremendous willpower and against-the-odds discipline to accomplish. Not surprisingly, the majority of us fail in our behavior change endeavors. Time magazine reported at the start of this year that 35% of those who resolve to make changes don’t even make it “out of the gate.”

But, we were somewhat surprised to realize that these individual priorities are also population health priorities (although a balanced agenda would also have to include attention to healthcare and the physical environment). Since experts always offer advice this time of year for how to keep resolutions, we thought it would be interesting to assess if their advice also has population health relevance.

As it turns out, tips for success for New Year’s resolutions have a familiar ring. Wall Street Journal Work and Family Columnist Sue Shellenbarger’s suggestions are fairly typical (and actually align quite well with content from our work from the County Health Rankings and this blog):

So, as you’re contemplating your own resolutions for 2011 (such as what approaches to adopt for losing weight and getting fit), don’t forget to think about resolutions for your neighborhood, community, or even state. Mobilizing Action Toward Community Health will happen one step at a time, as we figure out our attachment to bad habits and announce our intentions. And with a little help from our friends, we’ll overcome setbacks and ultimately change our environment.

Love your analogy between resolutions for personal health and population health. And I agree with Dr. Hunter's comment above - public health increases everyone's chances of fulfilling their resolutions.

Experience shows...
It is very hard to change personal behaviors, except when you change the environment, people change easily.